Scandalous (and not so scandalous) secrets related to gardening, cooking, health, nutrition, and whatever else crosses my mind . . . I am a long time organic gardener who has endeavored to educate myself in various ways--from learning and apprenticing with elder gardeners, to reading and researching, as well as doing my own experiments right in the garden . . .

Imidacloprid Toxicity

The Willapa Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association has been
denied a permit to spray the neonicotinoid
--imidacloprid in our bay, based on current science.

We can begin to understandneonicotinoid toxicity generally, and imidacloprid toxicity
specifically, simply by reading the label:“Environmental Hazards, Do not apply directly to water, areas where
surface water is present or to intertidal areas below the mean high water
mark.” “This product is toxic to wildlife and highly toxic to aquatic
invertebrates.” (Invertebrates are animals without backbones, like crabs and
shrimp and shellfish.) The following statement is also given on the label:
“PRECAUTIONARY STATEMENTS, HAZARDS TO HUMANS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS CAUTION.” Page
5 (2014):<https://bit.ly/2tra369>

Speaking of hazards to humans: “Four general population
studies reported associations between chronic neonic exposure and adverse
developmental or neurological out comes, including tetralogy of Fallot” (a
congenital heart defect), “anencephaly” (children born with part or all of the
brain missing), “autism spectrum disorder, and a symptom cluster including
memory loss and finger tremor.” (2016)<https://bit.ly/2llmEnI>

The environmental hazards include: " . . . that they are persistent . . .and are highly toxic to a wide range of
invertebrates." (2014): <https://bit.ly/2tgbzsu>

A more recent environmental study shows: “. . . . the
initial toxicity assessment of this insecticide was flawed.” “. . . most of the
organisms do not die immediately but start dying in large numbers after a week,
and their populations disappear completely after a few weeks . . .” “Neonicotinoids bind irreversibly to the
nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) embedded in the synaptic membranes of
neurons” (nerve and brain cells), “and their activation elicits a continuous
electric impulse that eventually leads to the death of the neuron. The neuronal
death toll accumulates as more and more chemical molecules bind to other nAChRs
until the organism cannot cope with the damage and dies . . .” “. . . effects
are cumulative with time, because neurons do not regenerate. It has been termed
time-cumulative toxicity . . .” “ . . .
exposure to neonicotinoids causes a number of sublethal effects on aquatic
organisms, such as feeding inhibition, impaired movement , reduced fecundity ,
reduced body size in . . . fish and
immune-suppression in fish . . . “ “ . . . vertebrates that depend on insects
and other aquatic invertebrates as their sole or main food resource are being
affected.”Vertebrates have backbones--like
us and fish and birds.Fish are
important to our commercial and recreational fisheries, and birds are very
important to our tourism industry and to our ecosystem as well. (2016):
<https://bit.ly/2LifRHf>

Science is an ongoing process. What we know continues to
grow. What we knew in 2015, based on the above referenced documents from 2014, should
have been enough to ban imidicloprid use in our bay. We know even more
today.Any increased risk, no matter how
small, of infants being born without parts of their brain is unacceptable.And this is not the only risk to us or to our
environment from this poison.We should
never forget that oysters are filter feeders.When we eat oysters from our bay, we are eating everything dumped,
spread, or sprayed in our bay.We should
be grateful that the Washington State Department of Ecology has put science
over politics in an effort to protect us, and to protect the essential
ecosystem of our bay that produces abundant and diverse foods which we enjoy
and which our economy depends on.